Controlled Chaos

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Jun 1, 2006 -> 10:33 AM) We need KW to do something to this team NOW Fire Sale!!!!!! We are 14 games above .500 and have the 3rd best winning % in all of baseball.

QUOTE(mreye @ Jun 1, 2006 -> 08:44 AM) You never heard about that? Yes, really cool. Nope!! If it ever did come across I probably heard "Cubs player" and then stopped listening like I normally do. Shame on me!! Good job Monday!!

I never heard about this. Kinda messed up that I had to post this in the Fillibuster, but I'm sure it would have ended up here anyway. Another Memorial Day Video: Baseball Hero Saves the American Flag Some readers may have forgotten about this. Some may not have been alive at the time. However, thirty years ago this past April, as America was in the process of celebrating its bicentennial, Chicago Cubs centerfielder Rick Monday, a former Marine Corps Reservist, made one of the greatest plays in baseball history…but it didn’t involve a ball, a bat, or a glove. As protestors were trying to set fire to an American flag in the centerfield of Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, Monday darted by, grabbed Old Glory, and saved her from a disturbing fate in front of a huge Chavez Ravine crowd. According to Inside Baseball: “This moment and the symbol it represented – freedom, history and those who have lost their lives in battle to save Old Glory – had countless Americans talking; from politicians in Washington, D.C. and throughout the country to military veterans to everyday people. It was ranked as one of the top 100 classic moments in baseball history by the National Baseball Hall of Fame committee and third on Sporting News’ list as the most ‘unusual’ moment to occur on a major league baseball field.” This marvelous video a four-minute tribute to the event, including video footage, and interviews with Monday as well as then Dodger third-base coach Tommy Lasorda. Enjoy.

And representing the AL - Boston and New York!! AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING UPDATE May 31, 2006 First Base 1. David Ortiz, Red Sox 451,431 2. Jason Giambi, Yankees 321,653 3. Paul Konerko, White Sox 206,472 4. Travis Hafner, Indians 154,878 5. Chris Shelton, Tigers 153,197 Second Base 1. Robinson Cano, Yankees 289,394 2. Mark Loretta, Red Sox 257,125 3. Tadahito Iguchi, White Sox 246,838 4. Brian Roberts, Orioles 130,702 5. Placido Polanco, Tigers 129,596 Third Base 1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 524,153 2. Mike Lowell, Red Sox 224,611 3. Joe Crede, White Sox 171,954 4. Eric Chavez, Athletics 167,020 5. Troy Glaus, Blue Jays 145,243 Shortstop 1. Derek Jeter, Yankees 537,218 2. Miguel Tejada, Orioles 370,078 3. Michael Young, Rangers 142,254 4. Alex Gonzalez, Red Sox 130,616 5. Juan Uribe, White Sox 121,304 Catcher 1. Jason Varitek, Red Sox 335,417 2. Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers 277,034 3. Jorge Posada, Yankees 241,736 4. Victor Martinez, Indians 196,987 5. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox 180,562 Outfield 1. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox 516,658 2. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 514,013 3. Johnny Damon, Yankees 393,643 4. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners 279,843 5. Gary Sheffield, Yankees 275,688 6. Vernon Wells, Blue Jays 242,211 7. Hideki Matsui, Yankees 231,777 8. Scott Podsednik, White Sox 195,402 9. Coco Crisp, Red Sox 189,680 10. Jermaine Dye, White Sox 183,160 11. Trot Nixon, Red Sox 177,745 12. Torii Hunter, Twins 169,937 13. Grady Sizemore, Indians 137,716 14. Jonny Gomes, Devil Rays 132,264 15. Kevin Mench, Rangers 131,779

QUOTE(Kalapse @ May 31, 2006 -> 12:09 PM) For whatever reason, I have Mike Murphy on right now and he's offering up one of the most ridiculous questions I've ever heard. Would you trade Brian Anderson straight up for Juan Pierre? Is there a single person on this board who would make that trade? It's such a ridiculous question nobody even wants to comment on it.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 31, 2006 -> 10:10 AM) http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/muslimprotest.asp shh

1280x1024 maybe?? possibly? Great work man!!

First time I'm seeing it.. To ALL the men and women who have served and/or are serving our country and fighting for our freedom, I want to say thank you. Words are not enough to express the gratitude I and many others feel.

So basically you can't make a killing on your house, cause the bank can come in and be like...NOPE it's not worth that much.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 30, 2006 -> 02:09 PM) Correct. And really, you shouldnt be buying a place which is appraised lower than your buying price unless you are planning on flipping or tearing it down. Thanks all! Well my friend was the seller and he was pretty psyched he got 141,000. The rest of the condos were sold around 138 or 139. He was pretty pissed that the banked bunked the deal. I couldn't figure it out, so I came to the soxtalk crew.

A friend of mine is selling his condo. The buyer signed a contract to buy the place for 141,000. The bank then appraised it at 137,000 and said they will only give her a loan based on that amount. The reason I don't understand this is, the buyer is putting down 10% which is about 14,000. So they are really only borrowing 127,000. If the house appraised for 137,000 why does the bank care. If the buyer happened to defualt on the loan they will get their 127 back. Can someone explain this to me....SLOWLY? thanks

Ok so I've been waiting to find out what AJ has done to be so hated. There was an article in the tribune comparing him to the likes of Bill Laimbeer, Claude Lemieux and Bill Romanowski. The big difference is those guys were physical agitators and they were dirty players. They were total assholes and there's video evidence of the cheap shots they took. What has AJ done?? Smile at a pitcher? Talk to a batter? I don't think AJ is talking trash to every batter that strikes out. In this era of inflated egos, we would have seen a confrontation at the plate by now. If he says something here or there, it may be bush league, but this isn't fricken golf. There's the S. Conte thing and AJ denies that ever happened. I'm not sure why every time I read or hear about it, the story isn't followed by AJ's denial. It's just reported as fact. AJ and Tomko clearly didn't get along...so you can take what he says with a grain of salt. I remember an interview when AJ came to the Sox and he had a perfect explanation with that Tomko thing. Im not saying AJ is an angel, I don't know him that well. I'm just saying the media portrayal of this instigator/bad boy or the comparisons to the cheap shot artists in the other sports is ridiculous. Sun Times, Quick Hits' Elliot Harris, who is a jackass in his own right, "proves" to us why AJ has a bad reputation... The Pierzynski chronicles White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski has a right to be frustrated. He wasn't to blame for the two controversial plays he was involved in during last year's playoffs. And he was the victim in the Michael Barrett episode during the recent Sox-Cubs series at U.S. Cellular Field. But if he thinks his bad reputation is a myth, he's only fooling himself. There's a reason why dirt sticks to him like Pigpen. It's called a history, and it's one that Pierzynski is finding difficult to erase. In case you've forgotten: *October 2002: Irritated A's pitchers by smiling at them after fouling off pitches -- but none more than Billy Koch, who took exception to Pierzynski's antics -- flipping his bat and allegedly taunting catcher Greg Myers -- after hitting a two-run homer in Game 5 of the ALDS. ''He's a jackass,'' Koch told reporters. ''Hopefully, Anaheim kicks the [deleted] out of them.'' *May 2004: Before a regular-season rematch, A's outfielder Terrence Long singled out the Twins' Pierzynski as the root of the team's ire. ''Pierzynski talks all the time,'' Long told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. ''I don't understand it. I know those guys -- Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones and Cristian Guzman -- and I don't understand how they can let that guy talk so much.'' *Spring training 2004: After being struck in the groin during an exhibition game, Giants trainer Stan Conte came out and asked how he felt. ''Like this,'' Pierzynski said, as he kneed Conte in a similar spot. *April 2004: In a game against the Atlanta Braves, television cameras caught Pierzynski making an apparent obscene gesture toward the crowd. Pierzynski denied making the gesture, but the San Jose Mercury News reported that Pierzynski was called on the carpet for that incident by general manager Brian Sabean and manager Felipe Alou and chastised by then assistant GM Ned Colletti. ''It's been handled internally,'' Colletti said. ''It's uncalled for. There's no place for it in a public venue.'' *May 2004: Turned down Giants teammate Brett Tomko's request for a pregame meeting to discuss Braves hitters, preferring instead to play cards in the clubhouse. ''He's the cancer in here,'' Tomko told the Oakland Tribune, at first anonymously, before later acknowledging the quotes were his. ''The pitchers aren't happy with him. If they can trade him, that would be fine with me. I've never seen a catcher who didn't watch video before games. He doesn't watch hitters -- other than the Twins when they're on TV.'' *March 2005: Pierzynski offered any White Sox teammate $100 for hitting a home run off Tomko, and paid up when outfielder Joe Borchard did it. ''Once an ass, always an ass,'' Tomko told a San Francisco reporter.

My condolences Kalapse....God Bless

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ May 26, 2006 -> 01:18 PM) Every time I hear a caller call into any radio show and say "AJ intentionally dropped his shoulder into Barrett when he walked by" I want to sit down, watch a video tape of the fight with this person, and while he is paying attention to it jack him in the face. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It drives me absolutely nuts!! All of a sudden people can't use their brains to look at the situation...they just need to find a way to blame AJ.

YeeHaw!!

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ May 26, 2006 -> 12:24 PM) wierd. its like they copied themselves Yeah, I was reading the press release on the suspensions on MLB.com and on the left side I saw an MLB Players Association link and there it is.

I'm probably the only one, but I never knew this site existed. http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/pa/index.jsp

Thornton: Dedicated to improvement By Matt Thornton / MLB.com "He's a very motivating coach," says Matt Thornton of pitching coach Don Cooper. (Getty Images) print this page I was a little shocked when the Mariners traded me to the White Sox near the end of Spring Training. I was all set to break camp and go to Seattle, then they called me in from stretching and told me they had made the move. At first it was kind of bittersweet. I was bummed to leave a team I'd been with for a while and I had a lot of close friends over there. But I was excited for the new start. And I was excited to come to the Midwest, where I have family. Once the trade was made, I found out the White Sox had been interested in me for a while. When I was in his office, one of manager Ozzie Guillen's first comments to pitching coach Don Cooper was, "There you got him, now leave me alone." Cooper apparently wanted me for a while. He wanted to work with me. He wanted a shot. So, hopefully, things keep going the way they are, and keep improving. The first time I ever pitched against the White Sox in '04. It was the one start I had in the big leagues, and Cooper saw me. Instead of saying, "Who's this guy?" he had been watching film on me. I was an opposing pitcher he'd probably never see again next year, but he saw something in me. It's very exciting to work with him. He's a very motivating coach. He wants to push me to be an elite pitcher. He wants to push me to become a known pitcher throughout baseball. He wants people to realize how hard we work together and what our dedication to the game is. I think he's realizing that I'm dedicated to doing what I can to help this team win. He's worked with me on the mental side of pitching. He challenged me on my mechanics and I got that. I'm throwing strikes and he challenged me again. He told me if I want to be an elite pitcher, you've got to learn how to finish these guys, to bury them. That's something I've challenged myself to do. Mechanically, he had me make some really simple adjustments, mainly just getting my body out farther. I'm taking my time with my pitching motion and not landing short and trying to get over top of the ball. It's all about riding my drive to the plate out. My right leg is landing about a foot farther than it has in the past and that's allowing my mechanics to fall into place. I didn't start out the way I wanted to in my first year and 1/2, two years, in the big leagues. Now I'm able to slow things down, I'm able to be calm on the mound. I'm able to focus and lock in on the catcher's glove, a small target, and attack it. I'm not seeing the big picture. I'm not seeing the umpire, catcher and batter all at once. I'm able to focus and go after the hitter. That's the big difference, when you just slow things down like that. It's been a really neat atmosphere to come into. This team is so equal across the board. Everyone pulls for everyone and everyone pushes for everyone. It's been a great clubhouse to come into and be a part of. These guys are an amazing group of guys and they know how to win. They know how to get it done. Reliever Matt Thornton, the 22nd overall pick in the 1998 draft, has struck out 15 batters and walked six (three intentional) in 13 1/3 innings for the White Sox this season. Born in Michigan, Thornton went to Grand Valley State before the Mariners drafted him. He pitched in 74 games in two seasons with Seattle and was 1-6 with just one start before getting traded to Chicago.

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 26, 2006 -> 10:19 AM) Reduced suspensions are routine. I know, that's why I was wondering it there's ever been one that wasn't or would the league holding their ground be like a first time thing.

Has there ever been an appeal that didn't reduce the suspension?? I want Barrett serving them all.

Anybody else having trouble with the fact that we're scoreboard watching Detroit in May??

Anyone going to explain where this is shown? never mind....After reading the first post again...I see it's at the games

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ May 25, 2006 -> 11:40 AM) The chick in the pig tails has a nice amomunt of 'excitement' goin' on there. I didn't want to make any derogatory comments cause I wasn't sure about the age.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ May 25, 2006 -> 11:24 AM) Exactly, his actions in the eyes of everyone I've come across have been viewed as justified and I'm hoping the league will feel the same way. If Pods had just stood there and done nothing then he should have been suspended for being a pussy and not sticking up for his teammate. Pods actually got clocked by Barrett too...

Bobby looked great last night. He looked like he was in command and spot on with everything he was throwing.